A moment worth the wait!!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of NESCAFE. All opinions are 100% mine.



I am a coffee-a-holic.
My drug of choice :).

However, when I'm pregnant, but some strange force of hormonal nature, I rarely crave that cup of joe. It's weird. I do ... enjoy ... a cup or so in the morning, just to get things started off right ... but it lacks lustre!! But once that baby is out, and I mean almost instantaneously, a cup of steaming coffee is a great reward (not that a beautiful little baby isn't a reward :P....).

So, come the end of May, I suspect my caffeine intake will skyrocket once again (not only will I actually crave coffee :) - but scrambled nights and 3 kids will require it!!!).

Even so.... when I see machines like this, my mouth waters. Imagine, all that coffee yummy-ness with the touch of a button!!

And guess WHAT!! It's WINNABLE!! Visit NESCAFE Dolce Gusto machine for your chance to win a super duper gift like this :).

Complete with a trendy design and all the bells and whistles, you can create instant, yummy coffee-esque beverages tailored to your preference of frothiness, creaminess, heat, and coffee strength. High quality coffee beans are used to brew hot AND cold treats, including an option for HOT CHOCOLATE! Ahhhh.

I am envisioning that perfect quiet moment that settles over the house once all babes are tucked in bed. Brew a favorite treat or try something new :), and head out onto the deck for a moment all to one's self (in my vision there is also no such thing as mosquitos!!!).

Doesn't that sound grand!?

Making good ... GREAT!

The other morning, in a bleary-eyed stumble to the coffee maker first thing in the morning (having to get up 6 times in 3 hours will do that to a gal  ...), I

 started to wonder - what makes good coffee ... GREAT!

Some would argue that the brand, roast, water used, type of coffee maker (are you a perk, press or drip fan ?), bean, etc. would be the defining

 characteristics, separating the passable from the prestigious. 

I smile and gently nod in their direction . 

For me, a good cup of coffee is becomes GREAT when it is.....

 - out of my favorite mug.
 - in the company of lively friends or family, swapping stories and laughs. 
 - first thing in the morning, before the sun and the rest of my peeps are up, in the solitude of those brilliant moments of the day.
 - in a rinky-dinky, outta-the-way coffee shop, that is more about being worn-in than posh.
 - around a campfire. ESPECIALLY if someone else has made it .
 - savored over a good book or journal entry.
 - at home, on my parents farm, with my mom doting on us  and my dad bustling in and out between "farming missions." 
 - the first mug after having a baby!! Even in the hospital, that was one of my first requests!!

For me, it sure doesn't have to be fancy to be great. It has to be savored, shared, enjoyed. 
Kinda like life, I guess .

Ya Know It'll Be That Kinda Day When....

1. The phone starts ringing at 7:30 am. And doesn't stop, for the most part, for the rest of the day.
2. One of those phone calls includes the words - this is the doctor's office, test follow-up, appointment. Yoikes!
3. The day begins with 3 "time outs" before 7:30.
4. You've been up 1/2 the night with one babe, while the other sleeps alllllll night, storing up rest and energy and zest and enthusiasm which she will unleash for the next 13 hours straight, while you are left wondering how on earth to keep up!
5. Oh ouch. And all this is following Monday. And Mondays are Mondays, no matter what!

Bring on the coffee, that's what I say!!

Gray Day

It's one of those days where you have to go the second round of coffee just to keep it moving until afternoon tea.

I did not intend to start my day somewhere around 1:30am. I also did not intend to have my floors mopped by 8:30am (some accidents in life just necessitate that - thank heavens for carpet cleaners!). I also did not intend to waste a single moment of a precious day feeling discouraged by short comings and frustrated by circumstances.

But sometimes I find myself wrestling with the intentionalities vs. the realities of life. Grappling with

"I wish I could", "I really should", "I want it to be like..."
vs.
the "this is who I am" and "this is where its at".

Some days I find myself stuck in the middle - not okay with the way things are, but not sure the time is right to press forward, either. A day that's neither sunny nor stormy, but cloudy and dreary and not very much fun.

And mopping the floor before breakfast is done is not much fun either .

So, as I press through the Gray Day, I will also choose to recall the precious things that make this messy life so sweet - grace, growth and good friends.

Oh. And that second round of coffee. That was also very helpful!

The simple joys of life ....

I just discovered a new delight :).

Tim Horton's Cafe Mocha.

I am likely behind the times with this one, and that's okay. I am secure enough with myself to admit out loud that I don't get out as often as I used to or even as often as I'd like. My usual daily chatter includes referring to myself in the third person (mommy said!), answering "why" a lot, and coaxing a budding vocabulary from my youngest. (I swear I talk more now than I EVER DID when I worked outside the home!!)

But back to getting out. And about. And that new delight :)......

Tim Horton's Cafe Mocha - a leisurely stroll around a bookstore - and 5 uninterrupted hours of time to sing at the top of my lungs (reserved for alone-time in the family van!!), pray, browse, read, ponder and breathe.

Hmm hmmm good.

Now doesn't that just make you wanna cozy up in some outta the way TH franchise for just a few quiet moments :)...